Vohukhshathra Gatha

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Vohukhshathra Gatha
Geldner Vohukhshathra Gatha page 1.png
First page of the Vohukhshathra Gatha in Geldner's edition of the Avesta
Information
Religion Zoroastrianism
Author Zarathustra
Language Old Avestan
Chapters1
Verses66

The Vohukhshathra Gatha is the fourth of the five Gathas, the most important texts of Zoroastrianism. It consists of only one hymn with 22 stanzas and 66 verses, which makes it is the second shortest poem in the collection. [1]

Contents

Name

The name of the Vohukhshathra Gatha, [2] also rendered as Vohuxšaθrā Gāθā, [1] Gāθā vohu.xšaθra [3] or Vohu.xšaθrā Gāθā, [4] is drawn from the first words of the poem vohû xshathrem. It refers to Kshatra Vairya, one of the Zoroastrian Amesha Spenta representing authority and rule. [5]

Structure

The Vohukhshathra Gatha covers chapter 51 in the Yasna. [6] It consists of a single hymn with 22 stanzas, each having 3 verse lines. The meter of each of these three verses consits of fourteen syllables with a caesura resulting in two seven-syllable feet. [7] The first stanza reads as follows:


Transliteration
vohû xshathrem vairîm // bâgem aibî-bairishtem
vîdîshemnâish îzhâcît // ashâ añtare-caraitî
shyaothanâish mazdâ vahishtem // tat nê nûcît vareshânê

Meter:
x x x x ᴗ ᴗ x // x x x x ᴗ ᴗ x
x x x x ᴗ ᴗ x // x x x x ᴗ ᴗ x
x x x x ᴗ ᴗ x // x x x x ᴗ ᴗ x

Translation:
That good rule must be chosen which brings good fortune
to the man serving it with milk. In alliance with truth, it shall encompass the best (for us)
through its actions, Wise One. This very rule shall I now bring to realization for us.

—  Yasna 51.1 (translated by Stanley Insler [8] )

Like all the Gathic meters, the meter of the Vohukhshathra Gathahas been analyzed in comparison with the Vedic metre found in the Vedas. It shares the eleven-syllable verse count as well as the caesura after the fourth syllable. On the other hand, the Gathic verses lack any qualitative structure, i.e., there is no recognicable pattern of stressed vs. unstressed syllables. [9]

Content

The main theme of the Vohukhshathra Gatha is Kshatra Vairya, the desirable good power, after which the poem is also named. Another central theme is praise of Zarathustra's important allies, namely Kavi Vishtaspa his followers Frashaoshtra and Jamaspa as well as Maidyoimangha. [10] The poem closes with the hope for the advent of good power in exchange for proper worship of The Wise One. [11]

Editions and translations

The Vohukhshathra Gatha has been edited and translated as part of the Yasna or wider Avesta collection. The most important edition was published by Geldner. [12] Early translations were provided by Mills into English [13] and by Darmesteter into French. [14] An important scholar on the Gathas is Helmut Humbach who published a seminal scholarly translation [15] as well as a translation aimed at lay people. [16] A review of the most important translations is provided by Malandra. [17]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Humbach 2000.
  2. ↑ Darmesteter 1892, p. 330.
  3. ↑ Gippert 1986, p. 257.
  4. ↑ Humbach, Elfenbein & Skjaervo 1991a, p. 186.
  5. ↑ Humbach, Elfenbein & Skjaervo 1991b.
  6. ↑ Humbach, Elfenbein & Skjaervo 1991a, p. 4.
  7. ↑ Darmesteter 1892, p. 330: "La Gâtha Vohukshathra est composée d’un Hâ unique. Le rythme est exprimé par la formule 3 (7 + 7); autrement dit, la strophe compte trois vers, chacun de quatorze syllabes, réparties entre deux hémistiches de sept syllabes".
  8. ↑ Insler 1975, p. 103.
  9. ↑ Gippert 1986, p. 258.
  10. ↑ Humbach, Elfenbein & Skjaervo 1991b, p. 221.
  11. ↑ Insler 1975, p. 310.
  12. ↑ Geldner 1885, pp. 179-185.
  13. ↑ Mills 1887, pp. 176-187.
  14. ↑ Darmesteter 1892, pp. 330-338.
  15. ↑ Humbach, Elfenbein & Skjaervo 1991a, pp. 186-191.
  16. ↑ Humbach & Ichaporia 1994, pp. 96-101.
  17. ↑ Malandra 2000.

Bibliography

  • Darmesteter, James (1892). Le Zend-Avesta: Traduction nouvelle avec commentaire historique et philologique; Vol I: La liturgie (Yasna et Vispéred). Paris: E. Leroux.
  • Geldner, Karl F. (1885). Avesta: die heiligen Bücher der Parsen I: Prolegomena, Yasna. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. doi:10.25673/100265.
  • Gippert, Jost (1986). "Zur Metrik der Gathas" (PDF). Die Sprache. 32: 257–275.
  • Humbach, Helmut; Elfenbein, Josef; Skjaervo, Prods O. (1991a), The Gathas of Zarathushtra and the Other Old Avestan Texts, Part I, Heidelberg: Winter
  • Humbach, Helmut; Elfenbein, Josef; Skjaervo, Prods O. (1991b), The Gathas of Zarathushtra and the Other Old Avestan Texts, Part II, Heidelberg: Winter
  • Humbach, Helmut; Ichaporia, Pallan (1994), The Heritage of Zarathustra - A new Translation of his Gathas, Heidelberg: Winter
  • Humbach, Helmut (2000). "GATHAS i". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. X. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 321–327.
  • Insler, Stanley (1975). The Gāthās of Zarathustra. Acta Iranica. Vol. I. Leiden, Liege, Tehran: Brill.
  • Malandra, William W. (2000). "GATHAS ii". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. X. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 3327–330.
  • Mills, Lawrence H. (1887). Müller, Max (ed.). The Zend-Avesta Part III: The Yasna, Visparad, Afrinagan, Gahs, and Miscellaneous Fragments. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 31. Oxford: Claredon Press.
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